When we sit down to eat this time of year, we should toast farmers rather than cooks. They've done the heavy lifting, and their produce, in all its ripe glory, allows us home cooks to do so little and get so much in return. Since I prefer dishes that require minimal effort, summer is my favorite...

Q I recently visited Burt & Max’s in Delray Beach and had a wonderful Watermelon feta salad for lunch. Would love to know what type of dressing they used and get the recipe? -- Kayla Weigel, Boynton Beach A. Melons are at their peak right now, and this is definitely a summertime salad that satisfies...

Q My husband and I have been going to John G’s for many years. My husband loves the Greek shrimp. Do you think they would part with the recipe? -- Tina Moreau, Lantana A. This is the second half of Tina’s two-part series. Her original request for Gazpacho from John G’s (264 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan;...

Q: I ordered the mahi at SeaWatch last week. It was cooked perfectly and served with a delicious pineapple salsa. I would like to try making it at home. Is there any way you can get the chef to share the recipe? Thanks. — Todd Farley, Hollywood A: When I caught up with executive chef Darryl Shuford,...

You Asked For It

Q I would love to have Kaluz’s recipe for their quinoa side dish. It is fabulous and pairs so well with salmon (or any other fish, for that matter). I even just get it as a side for my soup some days. I think it would be a great healthy addition to everyone's meal planning. Thank you for all of...

Q First, let me say that I look forward to your column every week. Your recipes are always so good. My husband and I went to Vignetos in Plantation the other night. He ordered Eggplant parm and it was so good. It looked like they didn't use bread crumbs and it was baked. We would love to have the...

PokéBao 153 Giralda Ave., Coral Gables, 305-967-4832, PokebaoMiami.com The name says it all. An alum of Nobu Lana’i in Hawaii and Makoto in Bal Harbour has debuted his first eatery, specializing in Hawaiian-style poké and bao buns, in the former Pete’s Authentic Cooking. “At Nobu, I learned finesse...

A perfect summertime drink, horchata — most familiar as the sweetened, slightly gritty iced beverage found at taquerias — is wildly popular throughout Puerto Rico, Central America and central and southern Mexico through the Yucatan Peninsula. In the U.S., the Mexican style of horchata predominates,...

Backyard barbecue shrimp with pineapple pico de gallo. Salvadoran chicken. Beef with mole. Red pork chile. There are times when nothing satisfies quite like a tamale. Here are 10 great tamale recipes, from classics to fun ideas perfect for summer. noelle.carter@latimes.com @noellecarter

Recipes

Chinese, curried, chopped, Thai and more — there are so many ways to compose and flavor a great chicken salad. We’ve compiled 17 of our favorite chicken salad recipes from our Recipe Database, perfect whether you’re planning for a picnic, potluck or simply a quick and easy meal. noelle.carter@latimes.com...

Cielito Lindo’s avocado sauce, perfect grilled steak and Santa Maria-style pinquito beans were some of your favorite recipes this past July. Our Top 10 recipes for the month showed a lot of love for the grill and outdoor cooking, using the mayonnaise trick to keep food from sticking, and grilling...

If you happen to have a bunch of extra tomatoes lying around (seriously, who doesn’t want that problem?), we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite tomato soup recipes, including a couple of chilled soups — perfect for this hot summer weather. noelle.carter@latimes.com @noellecarter

What’s in season: Summer beans, ranging in color from green to yellow to vibrant shades of purple and red, are available by the mound at markets, and should be in season through the end of the hot summer months. Beans can generally be divided into two groups: round beans are more delicate and cook...

The phrase “flavored oils” might conjure images of Italian-ish garlic and herb oils, chile oils to dress Sichuan dishes or maybe supermarket truffle oils. But there are some new players on the scene that are changing the concept: deep green pine oils and dill oils, intense and dimensional rose...

Peter Davis, a native of Nahant, Massachusetts, left New England as a young man to work at the Hyatt-Singapore, the Bali Hyatt, the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong and the Beverly Hills Peninsula. When he returned to Massachusetts 22 years ago to open Henrietta's Table in Cambridge's Charles Hotel, farm-to-table...